Running in the Second Ward

Although Council President Beth Mason has only been on the council for one term, she's not new at campaigning.

Mason, 50, first got involved with Hoboken politics in 2003 when she was asked to run for the Second Ward seat. Although she lost that race, she said remained active in Hoboken's public life. Among one of the things she did was co-found the organization People for Open Government.

In 2005, Mason helped Councilwoman Carol Marsh on her unsuccessful mayoral campaign against former Mayor David Roberts. Two years later, Mason ran for the Second Ward council seat for the second time and won.

Then, in 2009, Mason threw her hat in the ring twice to become mayor. In May of 2009, she didn't make the runoff and supported current mayor Dawn Zimmer. But Mason is now known as a staunch critic of the Zimmer administration. After former Mayor Peter Cammarano was arrested, Mason ran again in a special election in November 2009.

On May 10, she will be defending her Second Ward seat against three opponents. Mason currently heads the council majority, which is not aligned with the mayor. Fourth Ward Councilman Tim Occhipinti, First Ward Councilwoman Theresa Castellano, Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo and Sixth Ward Councilman Nino Giacchi are also part of that majority.

One of the issues on which Mason disagrees with her opponents—especially Tom Greaney, the candidate in the Second Ward who is being endorsed by the mayor—is the surplus and the city's budget. The city recently introduced a $101 million budget, which still needs to be approved by the city council. Mason said the city's budget should be closer to $90 million.

"I don't think it's very well thought out," Mason said about the budget.

About the—much debated—surplus, Mason said she agrees with a five percent reserve fund, which she said is required by the state. The total reserve is roughly $25 million. Of that money, $14 million is left in cash, of which $9 million has already been allocated. This leaves about $5 million in cash.

"We need to give the surplus back to the taxpayers," Mason said, adding that the city doesn't need more than the state-required reserve. Mason said she is one of the highest non-commercial taxpayers in town, on her Hudson Street home. 

Mason, a native of Virginia, lives with her two teenage daughters and husband Richard Mason.

Another issue discussed by Mason is anti-wheeling legislation, a measure of campaign finance reform to prevent people from exceeding limits on donations by funneling money through political action committees. Earlier this year, the mayor introduced an ordinance to establish such limitations after Mason donated roughly $14,000 to Occhipinti's campaign last November. An individual cannot donate more than $2,500 to a single political candidate.

Even though the donation limits were exceeded, Mason said she wasn't wheeling, because she didn't receive a monetary benefit in return.

Mason voted against the mayor's ordinance to limit campaign donations to $500, saying that she felt targeted. Mason said she wants to work with POG in drafting a new anti-wheeling ordinance. The matter is currently going to a subcommittee, before an ordinance will be introduced to the City Council.

In return, Mason charges that the mayor is using the city's web site for political purposes. She also added that council members have no voice on the city's web site.

Those were some of the issues discussed in an interview at The Turning Point, a coffee shop often frequented by Mason, who moved to town 27 years ago.

"I love the community," she said. "I now have the experience to actually get things done."

This story has been changed to reflect that Beth Mason first ran for council in 2003.